About Shae Russell

Shae Russell started out in financial markets more than a decade ago. Working with a derivative brokering firm, she helped clients understand derivative markets, as well as teaching them the basics of technical analysis.

Since joining Port Phillip Publishing eight years ago, Shae has worked across a number of publications. She holds the record for the highest-returning stock recommendation, in which a microcap stock returned over 1,200% in six months. Ask her about it, and she won’t stop yapping on.

For the past two years, Shae has worked alongside Jim Rickards as his Australian analyst, translating global macro trends for Aussie investors, and how they can take advantage of these trends.

Drawing on her extensive experience, Shae is the lead editor of Markets & Money. Each day, Shae looks at broad macro trends developing around the world, combining them with her distaste for central banks and irrational love of all things bullion.

A lower Aussie dollar may benefit the commodity sector and other export-reliant businesses. But it also drives up prices for consumers. Because we import so many goods, a lower currency means that you’ll pay more for goods.

What we are starting to see is a mid-cycle peak. Phil explains that this has happened all throughout history. But most people are likely to mistake it for a market top. When, in reality, it may only be a half-way point.

The future of money is here. And global markets are getting ready to place their bets. This Sunday, bitcoin’s legitimacy will soar to a new level. The CBOE Group Inc. launches the first cryptocurrency futures contract on Sunday night. The bitcoin market is about to get a whole more interesting.

Sunday, 10 December. Make a note of that day in your diary now. Why? Something big is happening on that day. CBOE Global Markets Inc. will become the first exchange in the world to offer futures on cryptocurrencies. The largest futures exchange in the world, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will make its debut a week later on 18 December. You know what this tells you? The big money has found its way into cryptos.

There is something strange afoot in the markets. I couldn’t tell you what it is. But markets are screaming ahead with no real reason as to why they should be. On the flip side, the crypto market is still only worth US$200 billion. It turns out the ‘big boys in the bubble’ can’t touch it yet. But you can.

Aussie retailers are dropping like flies. Last week, ‘affordable luxury’ retailer OrotonGroup Ltd [ASX:ORL] announced that administrators were taking over operations. Oroton joins an incredibly long list of iconic retailers that have gone under in the past two years. The retail landscape in Australia is bleak, to put it mildly.

The modern system relies on trusting a third-party. That third-party is a central bank or government. Central bankers believe they can engineer asset-price inflation. That is, how much the value of assets goes up. If they control money, they can decide what it’s worth. Cryptocurrencies flip that idea around.

Technology is working behind the scenes to revolutionise simple day-to-day tasks. You can’t see it or touch it. But the changes will have an incredible impact on your life. And, in our view, there will be more positives than negatives.

Of course, there are industries that will always require people to function. However, your accountant may want to start looking over their shoulder. And your lawyer too. Why? The blockchain is a digital record of events. It makes it easier to identify factual information.

For centuries, we’ve relied on middlemen to be the trusted third-party. The ones overseeing the proof of identification. The people who clear the transaction. All of these people are the ones we trusted to look after the transaction process. In my view, the blockchain will out these people from their roles in a few short years.

If you had bought five bitcoins last Monday when it broke through the US$8,000 mark, and sold that this morning, you’d have banked around AU$10,000. However, there are ways to take advantage of bitcoin’s surge without buying into the is-it-or-isn’t-it-a-bubble drama.

Perhaps we should thank these banks, though. Outdated attitudes are giving way to new ideas. The stagnant banking industry is enabling an entirely new sector to thrive. In my view, the fintech industry is going to challenge the existing banking system.

When we use these social media platforms, we are giving these companies information about everything. This information is at the core of a data-revolution. In my view, the blockchain is going to reinvent how we look at social trends.

Here’s where it gets sticky for the RBA: Their metrics are saying that almost all Aussies that want work have jobs. That suggests wages should be growing. But they aren’t. The biggest factor to wages and inflation turns out to be technological disruption.

Testimonial

Just thought I would let you know that whilst I receive countless financial emails daily I view yours as something special. I am not looking for the same old humdrum I am looking for news that is out of left field. Now you guys would be off the planet if you went any further left but it is refreshingly different. I get through the humdrum first and get my mind sorted and save you for last as a check. It is certainly an insane moment in time but I am still finding investment opportunities. Thanks for your comments